Infection of titanium (Ti)-based orthopedic implants is a growing problem due to the ability of bacteria to develop a resistance to today's antibiotics. As an attempt to develop a new strategy to combat bacteria functions, Ti was anodized in the present study to possess different diameters of nanotubes. It is ...

BACKGROUND: The nature of the tumour microenvironment immune response in head and neck cancer patients has an important role in tumour development and metastasis, but it is unknown if this differs between cancer subsites or whether it is related to the peripheral immune response. METHODS: Immune cells (CD4, CD8, Foxp3) ...

The synthesis and alkylation of chiral, nonracemic tropane- and homotropane-derived enamines is examined as an approach to enantioenriched α-alkylated aldehydes. The two bicyclic N auxiliaries, which differ by a single methylene group, give opposite senses of asymmetric induction on alkylation with EtI and provide modestly enantioenriched 2-ethylhexanal (following hydrolysis of ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Availability of chemical response-specific lists of genes (gene sets) for pharmacological and/or toxic effect prediction for compounds is limited. We hypothesize that more gene sets can be created by next-generation text mining (next-gen TM), and that these can be used with gene set analysis (GSA) methods for chemical ...

INTRODUCTION: Platelet activation in circulation is considered to be associated with thrombosis and inflammation; thus, sensitive and easy-to-use markers are necessary. In this study, we established a simple and rapid protocol to clinically examine leukocyte-platelet aggregate formation associated with activated platelets in circulation. METHODS: Whole blood was stained with PC5-conjugated ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. As CUGBP1 may also play a great role in tumor genesis and deterioration, the purpose of this study was to detect the expression of CUGBP1 mRNA and CUGBP1 and assess the prognostic significance of ...

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common and has a high impact on morbidity, mortality, and costs of care. Although most of the patients with VTE are aged ≥65 years, there is little data about the medical outcomes in the elderly with VTE. The Swiss Cohort of Elderly Patients with VTE (SWITCO65+) is ...

Well-defined multibranched gold (Au) in polymers, both as bulk or continuous thin films, can be fabricated by using a nanoporous polymer with gyroid nanochannels as a template. The nanoporous polymer template is obtained from the self-assembly of a degradable block copolymer, polystyrene-b-poly (L-lactide) (PS-PLLA), followed by the hydrolysis of PLLA ...

This study deals with the utilization of chicken feather waste as a substrate for anaerobic digestion and improving biogas production by degradation of the compact structure of the feather keratin. In order to increase the digestibility of the feather, different pretreatments were investigated, including thermal pretreatment at 120 °C for 10 min, ...

The role of progesterone (P(4)) and prostaglandins (PGs) in bovine early embryonic development and embryo-maternal crosstalk is almost unknown. Here, the in vitro steroidogenic (P(4)) and prostanoid (PGE(2) and PGF(2α)) interactions between bovine embryos and luteal cells (LC) were evaluated. In two experiments, embryos (n = 1.900) were either co-cultured with LC ...

This study focuses on the influence of structural aspects of social integration (social networks and social participation outside work) on mental health (common mental disorders (CMD), that is, depression and anxiety symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol misuse). This study examines differences in levels of social integration and ...

A facile method to synthesize a MoS(2) nanosheet-graphene nanosheet hybrid has been developed via the combination of a lithiation-assisted exfoliation process and a hydrazine monohydrate vapour reduction technique. The as-obtained nanosheet-nanosheet hybrid is more robust and exhibits much improved cycle life (>700), which make it an efficient morphological solution to ...

PURPOSE: In planar (123)I-mIBG myocardial imaging, definition of the heart region of interest (ROI) is a critical step in quantifying uptake. The present study evaluated the impact of changes in heart ROI size on quantitative results in subjects with good and poor uptake. METHODS: Reference irregular whole-heart and square upper ...

The main aim of this study was to investigate potential differences between different groups of drug addicts (patients in maintenance treatment, n = 14; patients in rehabilitation, n = 12) and Cannabis-Users (n = 13), along with a healthy control group (n = 18), with respect to verbal and figural creativity and general cognitive ability. Participants worked on ...

A 4-year-old girl who had been born of normal pregnancy and delivery and had an unremarkable family or personal history was referred to a neuropsychiatric department because of the appearance of peculiar nocturnal episodes. Parents described that their child abruptly became stiff during sleep. These episodes usually ranged from 20 ...

Respiratory chain disorders (RCDs) have been included in the differential diagnosis of adult-onset leukodystrophies. Here, we first report a 32-year-old female with an atypical, adult-onset, non-syndromic RCD due to a mitochondrial DNA deletion and manifesting as complicated ataxia. A 'leukodystrophic' pattern was found on brain MRI, but it was neither ...

Oncoprotein platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) is one of the most critical growth factors that regulates tumor growth and division. In this work, a highly sensitive and selective fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) aptasensor for PDGF-BB detection based on the assembly of dye-labeled aptamer and graphene oxide (GO) is developed ...

Expression of soluble and functional proteins has been one of the critical challenges to many aspects of synthetic biology, metabolic and protein engineering. Among the current methods for expression of target proteins, constitutive expression systems offer several advantages over inducible systems, which require a chemical or physical inducer. In a ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety profile of the combination of panitumumab and irinotecan every 3 weeks in a phase II trial as second-line treatment in patients with advanced wild-type (WT) K-RAS colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Fifty-three patients received 9 mg/kg of panitumumab followed by 350 mg/m(2) of irinotecan every 21 days until ...

The effects of waterlogging on amyloplasts and programmed cell death (PCD) in endosperm cells in Chinese wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; cv: Hua mai 8) are here discussed. Four water treatments were established from anthesis to maturity: they were 3 days of waterlogging treatment (DWT), 7 DWT, 12 DWT, and moderate water ...

Abstract Objective: Hospital-onset Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (HO-CDAD) has been associated with longer length of stay (LOS) and higher hospital costs among patients in general. The burden of HO-CDAD is unknown among patients who may be at particular risk of poor outcomes: older patients, those with complex or chronic conditions (renal ...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) have a poor prognosis. Over the last decade, increasing evidence has suggested that the Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing 1 (CTHRC1) gene is involved in cancer progression and invasion. In this study, we investigated the expression of CTHRC1 in CRC and its ...

BACKGROUND: Women are underrepresented in clinical research, and few data are available from randomized head-to-head comparisons of second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) in female patients. Aim of this study was to assess safety and efficacy of two second-generation DES in women. In TWENTE - a prospective, randomised, comparative DES trial - ...

In 2009 Pertab, James, and Bigler published a critique of two prior meta-analyses by Binder, Rohling, and Larrabee (1997) and Frencham, Fox, and Maybery (2005) that showed small effect size difference at least 3 months post-injury in individuals who had sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The Binder et al. ...

Soil and plant hydraulics constrain ecosystem productivity by setting physical limits to water transport and hence carbon uptake by leaves. While more negative xylem water potentials provide a larger driving force for water transport, they also cause cavitation that limits hydraulic conductivity. An optimum balance between driving force and cavitation ...

A(2)O process is a sequential wastewater treatment process that uses anaerobic, anoxic, and oxic chambers for nitrogen and phosphorus removal. In this study, the bacterial communities among these chambers were compared, and the diversity of the bacteria involved in nitrogen and phosphorus removal was surveyed. A pilot-scale A(2)O process (50 m(3) day(-1)) ...

The aridification from Middle Miocene onwards has transformed the Asian interior into an arid environment, and the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial oscillations exerted further ecological impact. Therefore, both aridification and glaciation would have considerably influenced the evolution of many mid-latitude species in temperate Asia. Here, we tested this perspective by a phylogeographic ...

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, left-sided acute bowel obstruction is treated by a staged procedure because immediate resection and anastomosis in a massive distended and unprepared colon carries a high complication rate. Total abdominal colectomy is a one-stage procedure that will remove synchronous proximal neoplasms, reduce the risk of subsequent metachronous tumor, and ...

PURPOSE: In septic shock, short-term outcomes are frequently reported, while long-term outcomes are not. The aim of this study was to evaluate mortality and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in survivors 6 months after an episode of septic shock. METHODS: This single-centre observational study was conducted in an intensive care unit ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Reduced endurance and excessive fatigue in stroke survivors (SS) during exercise may be linked to impairment of lung function and breathing mechanics, but little is known about lung function of SS. The purpose of this study is to determine lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV(1) ...

BACKGROUND: Although treatment adherence is a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, it is still unknown which longitudinal patterns of adherence are the most detrimental to long-term virological response to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) regimens. This analysis aimed to study the influence of different time patterns of adherence on virological ...

A new copper-catalyzed in situ generation of aryl thiolates strategy was successfully developed for the one-pot synthesis of substituted benzothiazoles from 2-iodoanilides using xanthate as a thiol precursor. A wide range of 2-iodoanilides with both electron-releasing and electron-withdrawing groups produced the corresponding benzothiazoles in good yields. Further, this one-pot protocol ...

Linezolid (LZD) is an option for treating infections caused by multi-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. The protein-binding rate of LZD markedly influences its elimination by dialysis, with limited data suggesting that LZD is cleared by intermittent hemodialysis. Here, we investigated the protein-binding rate and elimination efficiency of LZD in a sepsis patient ...

Summary: Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is a member of the CYP family and is an important enzyme in drug metabolism. A compound that inhibits CYP3A4 activity could also affect the pharmacokinetics of other substrates, resulting in drug-drug interactions (DDIs) that could cause side effects. Pharmacokinetic data from drug-development studies in ...

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Although lymph node dissection (LND) is known as the most accurate method of nodal staging, the therapeutic role of LND remains undetermined. This is mainly because of the lack of randomized prospective studies and the fact that retrospective analyses ...

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT? AND WHAT DOES THE STUDY ADD?: Bladder preservation therapies for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) have been developed to address the needs of two cohorts: patients with severe medical co-morbidities for whom radical cystectomy is too high risk and patients with limited disease who wish to ...

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) can result from the rupture of an intracranial aneurysm-a weakened, dilated area of a blood vessel in the brain that is prone to burst. SAH can be devastating. Approximately 1 in 6 patients dies at the time of the bleeding. Those who initially survive can die after ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: External beam radiation therapy with concurrent chemotherapy (CRT) is widely used for the treatment of unresectable pancreatic cancer. Noncoplanar (NCP) 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and coplanar (CP) IMRT have been reported to lower the radiation dose to organs at risk (OARs). The purpose of this article is ...

Single-dimension separations are routinely coupled in series to achieve two-dimensional separations, yet little has been done to simultaneously exploit multiple dimensions during separation. In this work, simultaneous chromatography and electrophoresis is introduced and evaluated for its potential to achieve two-dimensional separations. In simultaneous chromatography and electrophoresis, chromatography occurs via capillary ...

The purpose of this study was to examine a longitudinal clinical performance of magnetic attachments used for natural overdenture abutments. The study included 131 patients who had used removable prostheses (complete overdentures 31%, partial dentures 69%) more than 5 years (40-90 years old) with 211 magnetic attachments on natural abutments (Magfit 400 ...

Ribosomal subunit assembly in the nucleolus is dependent on efficient targeting of ribosomal proteins (RPs) from the cytoplasm into the nucleus and nucleolus. Nuclear/nucleolar localization of a protein is generally mediated by one or more specific stretches of basic amino acids-nuclear/nucleolar localization signals (NLSs/NoLSs). Arabidopsis thaliana RPL23aA has eight putative ...

PURPOSE: Medication use during pregnancy is common and increasing. Women are also increasingly getting healthcare information from sources other than their physicians. METHODS: This report summarizes an environmental scan that identified 25 active Internet sites that list medications reported to be safe for use in pregnancy and highlights the inadequate ...

OBJECTIVES: to assess the endothelial dysfunction (ED) after bare metal stents (BMS) and sirolimus eluting stents (SES) implantation in the same patient, overcoming the confounding role of individual variables. BACKGROUND: SES reduce restenosis rate compared to BMS but cause more ED. ED is a potentially unsafe phenomenon, since it is ...